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Friday, January 20, 2012

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

If you've been following my blog for some time now, you know we're in the middle of a major renovation. The ongoing project to which I'm referring: our garage turned master suite, mudroom/laundry, and dining space. When it's all completed, we will have doubled our living space--so it's a pretty big project. We started this reno a year and a half ago and we're still goin' strong and hoping to finish come springtime. We've made some major progress, although there are days when we feel like we've gotten nowhere. Winter time in general is hard to feel motivated to work. Since the space is out in the "garage," there's no heat (yet) and little electricity. (we have one outlet for our washer and dryer) And with limited daylight after Mitch gets home from work, not a lot is getting done right now. We're doing most of the work ourselves with help from friends. (And by "ourselves" I pretty much mean Mitch.) So anyway, I thought I'd give you an overview of what's going on so you have an idea of what everything looks like currently and hopefully get a vision of what it should look like someday. So I thought the title of this post was appropriatesince you'll be seeing a little bit of everything. Hope I don't scare ya off.

First let's start in the mudroom/laundry room. I'm super pumped about this space. Here's what it looks like right now. You can read more about the mudroom and that amazing tiling job here.

Here's the other side. There will be hooks of sorts on the planked wall (which I totally LOVE) for jackets and bags and whatnot.

Next up, our bedroom. Those wardrobes were made by the same guy who made our kitchen cabinets. The color is Benjamin Moore Dragon's Breath.

Here's one of my former students (I taught high school English and History for several years) who helped paint the annoying top of the walls for us. I didn't trust Mitch or myself with a steady enough hand, so I gave Mike $20 and in return he did a great job. Sometimes it's just easier paying someone to do the dirty work;) The wall color is BM Revere Pewter and the ceiling is BM Titanium.

Barn door. This will be the door leading into the bathroom. In its former life it was a huge pocket door in an 100+ year old home. I love using old stuff! Color is BM Dragon's Breath.

And bathroom. (we're verging on bad/ugly now just 'cause of all the crap everywhere)

What--doesn't everyone have a random door hangin' out in their bathroom? After a fresh coat of paint, that door will be used in our dining room to go to the basement/family room.

So excited to finally have a tub!

The double vanity will be tucked in here.

So if those pics were verging on bad/ugly, the following are straight up UGLY. Just keepin' it real with you guys. That's the annoying part about living in a reno--you have nowhere to keep all your crap so it just gets thrown in random places.

This will be our dining room but right now it's our laundry area/catchall.

And yes, that's a pot of soup on the washer. Since it's cold out there, this space also acts as a secondary refrigerator--how 'bout that! On the other side of the wall on the right is our kitchen (which got a makeover a year ago). That wall will be removed for an open kitchen/dining area. Looking forward to that day!

And this is the current state of our soon-to-be bedroom:( The trim will be painted the same color as the wardrobes and barn door--BM Dragon's Breath.

Oh wait, you've seen nothin' yet. I've saved the best for last. This is what the outside of our house has looked like for a year and a half. Sigh.

If you made it to the end here, you deserve a gold star. Sorry you had to view all that. I know most of us read blogs for inspiration, and those last few pics are anything but. Hopefully you can look past the ugly and see the potential that we see and have pictured in our heads for many months now. Obviously, we're super excited to finish. So stay tuned--hopefully soon you will be visiting for inspiration.

Oh my word-- your house is going to be fantastic! Even though it's still a major work in progress-- all the details are incredible. I can't wait to see more! And-- about that metal bed-- can't believe you got it for free!!

It is going to look AMAZING when you are done. Did I tell you how much I like Dragon's Breath color? Which I had done something like that (darker) in our kitchen. It is gorgeous as is your custom cabinetry. AND the subway tile. Camille

Wow, your place is looking so good! I am glad I found your blog because we have a ranch home also and I like to see what others are doing. If I could ask two questions...What sheen did you use on your painted doors? What is the size of the trim you have around your windows and doors? We are doing the same thing but are indecisive on the size of the boards. Thanks!!

Hi, I am Kat's husband. The trim around the windows are just 1X4 or 1X8's that I ripped to size with a table saw. The sides and bottom are 3.5 inches and the top trim is slightly more at 4 and 1/8th inches. The top trim hung over both sides an inch and a half. As far as the sheen on the doors, I will have to let her respond to that since she is the one who painted them.

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Hey! I'm Kat

Married to a sexy beast of a man (Mitch), mom to three sweet (and sometimes obnoxious) boys, and a so-so housewife who is totally NOT a neat freak. We're slowly transforming our little white rancher into the home of our dreams in Lancaster County, PA. This is where we spill the beans on all our renovations, thrifty finds, and some finger-lickin' good recipes with a bunch of random stuff in between. Welcome! Hope you stick around for a while.